Vedanta awaits Centre’s nod on modified chip scheme: CEO

After the collapse of its joint venture with Taiwanese electronics major Foxconn, mining giant Vedanta has said it awaits the Centre's approval on its applications submitted under the modified scheme for chip and display fabs.

"We will await the government of India’s nod to our applications under the modified scheme for semiconductor and display fabs. Thereafter, we will immediately begin construction and set out on the path to making India Atmanirbhar in electronics in line with the vision of our Honourable Prime Minister,” Akarsh K Hebbar, Global MD, Vedanta Semiconductors and Display says in a statement.

This is Vedanta's first major statement after Foxconn pulled out of its partnership with the company last week. Similar to Vedanta, the Taiwanese contract manufacturing giant has also submitted an application related to the government’s “Modified Programme for Semiconductors and Display Fab Ecosystem”.

Hebbar says the Vedanta group remains "fully committed to building India’s first semiconductor and display fabs" in Dholera Special Investment Region in Ahmedabad district, Gujarat. "Substantial progress has happened to tie up technology and equity partners in semiconductors and we will make an announcement soon."

Vedanta via Vedanta Foxconn Semiconductor Ltd (VFSL) had recently also submitted a 40nm fab proposal backed by a tech licensing agreement from a global semicon major, which is currently being evaluated by the Semiconductor India Tech Advisory group. Vedanta has also announced the addition of “semiconductors and display glass manufacturing ventures” to its diversified portfolio.

Notably, Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Group and Foxconn had earlier selected Dholera for setting up India’s first ₹1.54 lakh crore semiconductor manufacturing facility. However, the plans could not fructify as both parties thought "the project was not moving fast enough" and there were certain "challenging gaps" and "external issues", which hindered the progress of the project.

Talking about progress made so far by Vedanta, Hebbar says the company is engaged with "over 100 global suppliers and ancillary industries" to continue its work towards making India's first major semiconductor facility. In display fab, Hebbar says, the company already has a partnership with Innolux, and is ready to proceed with speed with its full support.

"We have engaged with more than 100 global suppliers and ancillary industries who will form a key part of the semiconductor and display ecosystem. The Government of Gujarat has allotted us the land in Dholera and work is already underway to prepare it for construction of the fabs."

Foxconn on July 11 said despite ending its ties with Vedanta, it is committed to investing in India. There is a lot of interest in Foxconn’s plans and India’s information ecosystem is porous, it added.

The government, meanwhile, has also said the withdrawal of Foxconn from its JV with Vedanta "changes nothing" about India's semiconductor goals. Union Minister of State for Electronics & Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar said it will allow "both companies to independently pursue their strategies”.

India’s semiconductor component market is expected to rise manifold to touch the total revenue worth $300 billion during 2021-2026, joint research by the India Electronics & Semiconductor Association (IESA) and Counterpoint Research has revealed. The share of local sourcing is expected to grow to over 17% by 2026.